Brake Systems-on Railway vehicles employ force transmitting members, including brake beams to provide train braking forces. A primary suspension_means for the brake beams can take the form of end guides located at each end of the brake beam. These are positioned and supported within unit guide wear liners which are, in turn, installed in the railway truck frames. This suspension also acts to react the torque generated by braking, and initially positions and aligns the frictional brake shoes with the wheel tread surfaces in an acceptable manner.
In the prior art, the generated braking torque eventually coerces_the brake shoes away from the desired alignment with the wheel tread surfaces. The brake friction forces often cause severe vibration in the previously mentioned supporting members. These members become worn and distorted. At some point in time, they are no longer able to properly align the brake shoes with the wheels.
Consequently, the worn supporting members of the prior art allow the brake shoes to wear increasingly more at one end than the other. This uneven brake shoe wear requires premature replacement, wherein a considerable amount of brake friction material is resultingly discarded as unusable. Brake shoe maintenance costs are higher than necessary. Other progressive damage also occurs to brake beams, levers and actuating bars of the brake system. The progressive damage causes misalignments, reduces the available braking force and renders the involved train less safe.